Date: Sat, 26 Oct 91 00:20:56 -0600
From: Vin Cawley <vin@alumni.cs.Colorado.edu>
Message-Id: <9110260620.AA15836@alumni.cs.colorado.edu>
To: qn@Athena.MIT.EDU
Subject: Same-sex marriages in Boulder, CO 1975 (long)

>From vin Sat Oct 26 00:14:55 1991
To: gaynet@athena.mit.edu
Subject: Same-Sex marriages in Boulder, Colorado 1975
Status: RO

Imagine my surprise, when my friend who works at the \
hisotry library in town showed me the newspaper
clippings.  In early 1975, 6 same sex couples were
issued marriage licenses by the county clerk Clela
Rorex.  Her comments on the issue basicaly say she was
just trying to interpret the law, she wanted to make 
no moral decisions.  Before she issued any licenses,
she asked the County district attorney office
for an opinion.  
>From the Boulder Daily Camera Mar 27, 1975
"County Clerk Issues Gays Marriage License"
	"Assistant District Attorney William C. Wise,
	who wrote the memorandum, said...,'There is 
	no statutory law prohibiting the issuance of a 
	license, probably because the situation was simply
	not contemplated in the past by our legislature.
	The case law is strongly on the side of the public
	official that refuses to issue a marriage license in 
	these situations, and a public official could not be 
	prosecuted for violation of any criminal law by such
	marriage licensing.'"
The first couple who had already been married for four 
years by a Metropolitan Community Church applied for 
a civil license in Colorado Springs.  They were told, "We do not
do that here in El Paso County, but if you want to, go to
Boulder County, they might do it there."

State legislators quickly moved to clarify the  state marriage
law.  One of them asked the state Attorney general for 
an opinoin.  He said it was not illegal for same-sex couples 
to be married, so those marriage would be invalid.  The 
issuing county clerk, Rorex, said she would consider the
licenses valid until some judgement otherwise.  She stopped 
issuing licenses even though the Attorney General's statements
were acknowledged as simply another lawyer's opinion.  

All of the couples used their licenses and got married.  There
was one femal couple that was on the road between LA and Boulder
when the Attorney General's opiion came out and Rorex stopped
the issuing.  

Following is one of the many articles.  This one emphasizes 
the idea that we queers were marrying toomake a statemnt,
but it's clear that the others came from far away 
because they wanted their bonds to be officialy acknowledged.
___________________________
Boulder, Colorado, Daily Camera  April 22, 1975
Immigration Law Test
MALE COUPLE MARRIED OUTSIDE CLERK'S OFFICE
By Tony Stroh Camera Staff Writer

     A male California couple was married in Boulder Monday 
afternoon in an attempt to test U.S. immigration laws.
     The two received their marriage license in the morning from the 
Boulder County Clerk and Recorder's Office.
     Richard F. Adams, 27, and Anthony C. Sullivan, 33, of Tujunga, 
Calif., were married in a brief ceremony in the hallway outside the 
clerk's office.  A formal religious ceremony was held later in the 
afternoon in Denver at the Metropolitan Community Church of the 
Rockies.  Marrying the two was the Rev. Robert Sirico, also of 
California.
				Visa Expires
     Sullivan is Australian and his visa expires in July.  Through his 
marriage to Adams, Sullivan hopes to be granted the status of First 
Preferential Alien - that of a spouse.  
     Sirico, who came to Boulder with the couple said the U.S. 
Immigration Service takes a dim view of homosexual aliens.
     The wedding was intended, in part, to test the immigration laws 
and to show that same-sex couples should have the same right to 
marry as heterosexual couples, Sirico said.
     Sirico, Sullivan, and Adams are going back to California today.
				Fifth License
     The marriage license was the fifth granted to same-sex couples by 
the Boulder County Clerk's Office.  All the couples have been married 
and the documents are on file at the clerk's office.  
     Since the marriage license applications specify male and female, 
those references are crossed out in the cases of same-sex couples.  
     Deputy Recorder Dave Fischer said the office has been instructed 
by the State Bureau of Vital Statistics that this is the correct way to 
record similar cases until the question of same-sex marriages is 
resolved, either by the state legislature or the courts.

________________________
In this particular case, the Immigrtation and Naturalizatin
Service wrote this couple, "You have failed to establish a 
bona fide marital relationship can exist between two faggots."

Sullivan said, "I never expected to be called faggot on a 
U.S. government document.  For gay people, faggot is our
'nigger' word and the world knows it."

Write or call the Boulder Public Library
Carnegie Branch
1125 Pine St.
Boulder, CO  80304  (303) 441-3110
for more information.  Dunno if they have a fax number.
They'll send you copies of the stuff.
Paul Crook is my friend.  He'll probably process your
requets.